COPD Flashcards
Define COPD.
- Progressive, partially reversible airway obstruction, which leads to air-trapping and lung hyperinflation
What rank is COPD in causes of death in Canada?
- 4th
What is the pathophysiological hallmark of COPD?
- Expiratory flow limitation
What are risk factors for COPD? (DFCM/GOLD)
- Exposure
- Tobacco smoke (includes cigarettes, pipe, cigar)
- Indoor air pollution (biomass fuel used for cooking and heating in poorly vented dwelling)
- Occupational dusts and chemicals
- Outdoor air pollution
- Perinatal or Childhood illness (e.g. low birth weight, respiratory infections)
- Atopy
- Social factors
- Host
- Genetics (e.g. alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency)
- Gender
- Airway (e.g. severe asthma)
What are 6 comorbidities commonly seen in patients with COPD? (GOLD)
- Cardiovascular disease
- Osteoporosis
- Depression and Anxiety
- Skeletal muscle dysfunction
- Metabolic syndrome
- Lung cancer
According to the GOLD report 2016, are cardioselective beta-blockers contraindicated in COPD? (GOLD)
- No (i.e. not contraindicated)
What is the most frequent cause of death in patients with mild COPD? (GOLD)
- Lung cancer
What are the symptoms and investigations compatible with the diagnosis of COPD?
- Symptoms
- Dyspnea at rest or on exertion
- Cough with or without sputum production
- Progressive limitation of activity
- Spirometry
- FEV1/FVC ratio less than 0.70 or less than the lower limit of normal
- Incompletely reversible with inhaled bronchodilator
- Absence of an alternative explanation for the symptoms and airflow limitation
What is the ratio FEV1/FVC in normal adults? (GOLD)
- Between 0.70 and 0.80
What are 4 factors that FEV1 is influenced by? (GOLD)
- Age
- Sex
- Height
- Ethnicity
What is the youngest age at which children are usually able to cooperate with PFT procedures? (AFP)
- 5 years
What 3 factors must be confirmed before PFT results can be reliably interpreted? (AFP)
- Volume-time curve reaches a plateau, and expiration lasts at least 6 seconds
- Results of the 2 best efforts on the PFT are within 0.2 L of each other
- The flow-volume loops are free of artifacts and abnormalities
What are the 8 steps to interpreting a PFT results? (AFP)
- Determine if the FEV1/FVC ratio is low
- Determine if the FVC is low
- Confirm the restrictive pattern
- Grade the severity of the abnormality
- Determine the reversibility of the obstructive defect
- Bronchoprovocation
- Establish the differential diagnosis
- Compare current and prior PFT results
What are the different criteria for a low FEV1/FVC ratio? (AFP)
- GOLD
- < 70%
- National Asthma Education and Prevention Program
- < 85% (children 5 to 18 years of age)
- ATS
- LLN (<5%ile based on NHANES III)
Which criteria should be used to diagnose obstructive lung disease? (AFP)
- GOLD = 65+ with smoking history (current or previous)
- ATS = <65 or 65+ nonsmokers
What is considered a low FVC on spirometry? (AFP)
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For patients whose initial PFT result indicates a restrictive pattern, what should be done? (AFP)
- Referral for PFTs with DLCO testing (diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide testing)
What test needs to be done before performing a DLCO test? (AFP)
- Baseline hemoglobin
How does the ATS grade severity of a PFT abnormality? (AFP)
Severity
FEV1 % of predicted
Mild
>70
Moderate
60 to 69
Moderately severe
50 to 59
Severe
35 to 49
Very severe
<35
What are the criteria for reversibility of an obstructive defect on PFTs? (AFP)
- +12% in patients 5 to 18 years of age
- +12% and +200mL in adults
If a PFT result is normal but exercise- or allergen-induced asthma is still suspected, what tests can be performed? (AFP)
- Bronchoprovocation
- Methacholine challenge
- Mannitol inhalation challenge
- Exercise testing
- Eucapnic voluntary hyperpnea testing
What is the difference in test accuracy between methacholine and mannitol? (AFP)
- Methacholine = Highly sensitive but low specificity (FP results)
- Mannitol = Lower sensitivity but higher specificity (FN results)
What is a differential diagnosis for obstructive lung disease? (AFP)
- Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency
- Asthma
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchiolitis obliterans
- COPD
- Cystic fibrosis
- Silicosis (early)
What is a differential diagnosis for restrictive lung disease? (AFP)
- Chest wall
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Kyphosis
- Morbid obesity
- Scoliosis
- Drugs (adverse reaction)
- Amiodarone
- Methotrexate
- Nitrofurantoin
- Interstitial lung disease
- Asbestosis
- Berylliosis
- Eosinophilic pneumonia
- Hypersensitivity pneuomonitis
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Sarcoidosis
- Silicosis (late)
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myasthenia gravis
Differentiate between COPD and Asthma.
How can spirometry differentiate between Asthma and COPD? (DFCM)
- Post-bronchodilator (Beta2 agonist)
- Asthma: FEV1/FVC > 0.70 or > LLN
- COPD: FEV1/FVC still <0.70 or <lln></lln>
In patients with chronic asthma in which a clear distinction from COPD is not possible with current imaging and physiological testing techniques, how should management? (GOLD)
- Similar to that of asthma
What is the USPSTF recommendation for screening for COPD in asymptomatic adults?
- Against
For patients older than 40 years of age and who are current or ex-smokers, which should undertake spirometry? (DFCM)
- Answer YES to any ONE of the following questions:
- Do you cough regularly?
- Do you cough up phlegm regularly?
- Do even simple chores make you short of breath?
- Do you wheeze when you exert yourself, or at night?
- Do you get frequent colds that persist longer than those of other people you know?
What is important to ask on history in patients with COPD?
- Increase cough
- Purulent sputum
- Wheezing
- Dyspnea
- Fever
- Frequency and severity of exacerbations
- Occupational or environmental exposure to cigarettes and other lung irritants
What is the Medical Research Council dyspnea scale?
What are the 3 stages of COPD severity?
How is the severity of airflow limitation in COPD classified based on GOLD? (GOLD)
***In patients with FEV1/FVC < 0.70***
GOLD 1
Mild
FEV1 ≥ 80% predicted
GOLD 2
Moderate
50% ≤ FEV1 < 80% predicted
GOLD 3
Severe
30% ≤ FEV1 < 50% predicted
GOLD 4
Very Severe
FEV1 < 30% predicted
What are the 4 categories of COPD based on GOLD, CAT and the mMRC?
Is clubbing typically seen in patients with COPD?
- No
- May suggest alternative diagnosis such as lung cancer, interstitial lung disease or bronchiectasis
What signs may you find on the physical examination in mild-moderate, severe and end-stage COPD?
Mild-Moderate
- Hyperinflation (increased resonance to percussion)
- Decreased breath sounds
- Wheezes, crackles at the lung bases
- Distant heart sounds
Severe
- Increased AP diameter of the chest (“barrel-shaped” chest)
- Depressed diaphragm with limited movement based on chest percussion
End-Stage
- Tripod-ing
- Accessory muscle use
- Pursed lip breathing
- Paradoxical retraction of the lower interspaces during inspiration
- Cyanosis
- Asterixis due to severe hypercapnia
- Enlarged and tender liver due to right heart failure
- Neck vein distribution may also be observed because of increased intrathoracic pressure, especially during expiration
What would you find on spirometry for different stages of COPD?
- TLC and RV increase as VC decreases
- DC decreases with increased emphysema
When would you consider performing an ABG in patients with COPD?
- Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) <40% predicted
- Oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry <92%
- Depressed level of consciousness
- Acute exacerbation of COPD
- Assessment for hypercapnia in at risk patients 30 to 60 minutes after initiation of supplemental oxygen
To monitor disease progression in COPD, at what interval should spirometry measurements be performed? (GOLD)
- At least 12 months apart
What are 5 management goals for COPD? (TOP)
- Prevention of disease progression (smoking cessation)
- Reduction of frequency and severity of exacerbations
- Improvement of dyspnea
- Improvement of exercise capacity (maintain active lifestyle)
- Improvement in QOL
Name 4 nonpharmacological interventions for COPD.
- Smoking Cessation
- Vaccinations (Influenza yearly and Pneumococcal)
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation
- Education and Case Management with an Action Plan
What is the evidence for telemonitoring for COPD to prevent COPE exacerbations compared to usual care? (AFP/ACCP-CTS)
- No evidence to support telemonitoring
Name 5 possible triggers for a COPD exacerbation?
- Infectious
- MI and CHF
- PE
- Systemic infections and Anemia
- Allergens and Irritants
What are the most common pathogens responsible for a COPD exacerbation?
- Viral
- Influenza
- Parainfluenza
- RSV
- Adenovirus
- Rhinovirus
- Bacterial
- H. influenza
- S. pneumoniae
- M. catarrhalis